Paresh Rawal is not worried about his son Aditya’s career, even if Aditya’s acting debut has been released in the midst of a worldwide lockdown.
Says Paresh, “My son’s film Bamfaad has not had an easy journey. There were production problems and the film was somehow completed. First of all, we don’t know when people will go back to theatres even after the lockdown ends. How do you know the person sitting next to you in the theatre is not infected? Social distancing will have a direct effect on theatre attendance. And even if they waited to release Bamfaad after lockdown it would have to compete with big films that are waiting to release. It wouldn’t have stood a chance. On the OTT platform, Bamfaad is being watched by a captive audience. So yes, I am quite happy at Aditya’s debut.”
Paresh who has been off the movie radar for five years, says he had no idea his son had signed a film. “That’s right! One fine day he told me he’s going to Kanpur for one and a half months. I asked if it was a football match or a writers’ workshop since he’s very good at football and writing. Aditya then told me he had signed a film as the main lead. I was taken aback. ‘Main lead in a film about life in a small North Indian town.. yeh sab kab hua?!’. Aditya learnt the local way of speaking, he familiarized himself with a culture that he had never experienced, to play the role. He’s truly self-made and I wouldn’t say just this because he’s my son.”
The proud parent Paresh recalls Aditya’s initial interest in another field of activity. “When he was younger Aditya loved cricket. He became a very good cricket player. Then all the corruption happened in cricket and my boy lost interest in the game. He then turned to football and became equally adept at that. But I saw no future for a football player in this country. So I asked him to show me his writing. He turned out to be a very skilled writer.He went to New York to study film writing and has worked with directors like Ashutosh Gowariker (Panipat), Hansal Mehta and Anurag Kashyap.”
Paresh feels his son has his own journey as an actor. “When I remember my struggle and all the humiliation that I went through to become an actor I am glad I came up the hard way. All the pain helps you to grow as an artist. Aditya too is evolving on his own. Being my son is not helping him to move forward. He’s doing it on his own.”
After a gap of five years Paresh will be seen in a handful of films.
“That’s right!” he brightens up. “I will be seen in David Dhawan’s Coolie No 1, Priyadarshan’s Hungama 2 and Umesh Shukla’s Aankh Micholi. I was more or less out of the screen for so many years as I became busy with my political career. But now I feel I am ready to give some time again to my acting career. You know what they say…once an actor always an actor.”
A film with his son, perhaps?
“Of course! I’d love that. In fact, I’ve asked Aditya to write a film with roles for both of us. I know he’ll come up with something really special.”
